Umbrella or parasol frame.



PATENTED FEB. 4, 1908.

A.' BLAKE & P. KRETZER. UMBRBLLA OR PARASOL FRAME.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29,1907.

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

zAUGUSTUS BLAKE AND PETER KRETZER, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNORS OF ONE- UMBRELLA OR PARASOL FRAME.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4:, 1908.

Application filed Julyf29. 1907. Serial No. 386,128.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be 1t known that we, AUGUSTUS BLAKE and PETER KRETZER, citizens of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Umbrella or Parasol Frames; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and 'figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to umbrellas or parasols including vehicle umbrellas, and it has reference to the frame parts comprising the ribs and the spreaders or braces for the ribs and particularly to the hinging parts with which they are connected with the stall* or rod of the device.

Objects of the invention are to provide improvements in the frame parts of umbrellas or the like, to permit of the parts being cheaply manufactured and to attain the highest perfection in regard to stability and durability, and to provide a construction which will permit of ready renewal of the ribs and spreaders in case of accidental breakage thereof.

With the above-mentioned and minor objects in view the invention consists in an article of the above-mentioned character provided with joint connections of novel construction having recesses adapted to retain the T-heads of the ribs and spreaders removably and form knuckle joints therewith, and the invention consists further in the novel parts and combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter particularly described and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure l is a fragmentary side view of an umbrella or parasol frame opened as when used but minus the cover required to complete the article; Fig. 2, a fragmentary longitudinal central sectional view of the frame. Fig. 3, a fragmentary horizontal sectional view as on the line A A in Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a plan view of one of the parts which form the knuckle connections of the ribs and spreaders; and, Fig. 5, a fragmentary central sectional view of the hinging connections for the ribs.

Similar reference characters designate like parts or features throughout the various iigures of the drawings.

In a practical embodiment of the invention the staff a may be constructed of any suitable material and as usual is cylindrical. A sleeve l) is secured by a rivet b to the staff a near the upper end thereof, and has a pair of annular plates secured thereto for supporting the ribs and connecting the cover to the staff. One plate c rests upon an annular rib d which is struck up on the sleeve, and the other plate e rests upon the plate c and is tightly held thereto and both plates secured to the sleeve by an annular rib f which is struck up on the sleeve, both plates being tightly held between the two ribs. The plates c and c are substantially alike but are placed together in reverse order, each plate l'laving a Vflaring annular flange g in the lower one of which are notches h, the flanges of the plates being divergent and forming seats to receive the T-heads of the ribs, the notches permitting the ribs to swing. A bowl-shaped ferrule t is placed over the sleeve l) and has slots in the bowl-shaped portion thereof to permit of movement of the ribs that support the umbrella cover, the top of the ferrule extending up to the top of the flange of the plate e which is uppermost when the umbrella is in use. The lower end of the sleeve l) has external screw threads 7c on which is screwed a nut Z that engages the ferrule t and holds it in the required position relative to the j oint plates c and c.

The ribs m may be of any suitable form in Across-section, and the joint end of each rib has two lateral projections a and n so that the end is T-shaped, the projections serving as pivots.

In Fig. 2 a washer o is placed upon the plate c and the umbrella cover 7) rests upon the washer, another washer' g being placed upon the cover, and a 'flanged collar 1l is placed upon the washer' Q and embraces the staff a to prevent rain water from flowing down the stall", and it will be understood that the collar 1' may be readily removed when it is desired to renew the umbrella cover,

As will be seen in Fig. 3, the ribs m extend through the slots j of the ferrule fL and into the notches h of the flanges g, the T-heads being seated against the flanges with the projections a and a extending laterally at opposite sides of the slots y', so that the ferrule retains the T-heads by means of the projections, and it will be clear that if the nut lbe screwed off of the sleeve b so as to release the ferrule i, the latter may be moved away from the plates c and e to release the ribs m when repairs may be necessary.

A sleeve s is mounted on the st'a a, so as to move a suitable distance thereon as is usual, and this is provided with external screw threads t and also two annular 'joint plates u and c which are exactly the same in shape as the plates 'c and e, but may differ slightly in size, and these are secured by means of an annular rib d struck up on the sleeve s and a ange w turned over against the plate v. The spreaders which control the ribs m and serve as braces therefor when the umbrella is open, have each a T-head on the ends thereof, the T-heads having lateral projections n and n as above-described, and one T-head of each spreader is seated between the flanges of the two plates u and c in the same manner as the ribs m are mounted. A bowl-shaped ferrule y similar to the ferrule i is placed on the sleeve s and held in the desired position by means of a nut l', the bowl-shaped part of the ferrule fy having notches 'y in the edge thereof to receive the body portions of the spreaders It may be further explained that the oint connections as above-described are designed to be made by means of labor saving machinery, so that the four oint plates, as c or e, may be stamped out by means of dies, but we are aware that a single piece might be employed in lieu of two separate plates c and e, the single piece having a peripheral groove therein partially covered by the bowlshaped ferrule which in the present case covers portions of the groove formed by the flanges of the two plates c and e, or in some cases the two plates c and e may be used and have theextremities of the flanges g turned over to close the groove between the notches so as to retain the T-heads without requiring the use of the bowl-shaped ferrule.

It is obvious that although all the plates, c, e, u, and c, may be alike for convenience 'in manufacturing and assembling, it is not required that the upper plate e and the lower plate u have the notches 7L in their flanges g. Also, mechanical equivalents of the nut l and l may in some cases be employed.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the expense of forming holes in the ends of the ribs and spreaders is avoided, the T-heads being formed more cheaply, and the annoyance due to pivot wires that have heretofore been used, becoming corroded and broken, is avoided by the use of the present invention which in practical use will operate in substantially the same manner as umbrella frames of well known construction heretofore in use.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. In an umbrella or parasol frame, then on the other end, said sleeve having two annular ribs struck up thereon, two counter part annular plates on the sleeve between said ribs and secured thereby together and to the sleeve, each plate having a flaring annular flange in which are notches, a notched bowl-shaped ferrule on said sleeve and extending over the iiange of the nearer one to the flange of the farther one of said plates, and a nut on said screw threads and engaging said bowl-shaped ferrule, with ribs extending through said notches and having heads held by said bowl-shaped ferrule between said anges.

2. In an umbrella or parasol frame, the combination of a staH, a sliding sleeve on the staff having a flange on one end thereof and external screwv threads spaced from the flange, the sleeve having also an annular rib struck up thereon between the flange and the screw threads, two counter part annular plates on the sleeve between said flange and said rib and thereby secured together and to the sleeve, each plate having a flaring annular notched flange, a notched bowl-shaped ferrule on-said sliding sleeve and extending over the flange of the near one to the ange of the farther one of said plates, and a nut on said screw threads and engaging said bowlshaped ferrule, with spreaders extending through the notches of said flanges and ferrule and having heads held by said bowlshaped ferrule between said flan es.

3. In an umbrella or paraso frame, the combination of a sleeve having two annular ribs struck up thereon, two annular plates on the sleeve between said ribs and secured thereby together and to the sleeve, -each plate having a flaring annular flange, the flange of one of said plates having a plurality of notches therein, and a notched bowlshaped ferrule secured on said sleeve and extending over the iian e of the nearer one to 1 the flange of the fart er one of said plates,

with ribs extending through the notches of said bowl-shaped ferrule and having heads held by said ferrule between said flanges, said ribs being movable into or out of the notches of said flan e.

4. In an umbrel a or arasol frame, the combination of a staff, a s iding sleeve on the staff having a fiange on one end thereof and having also an annular rib struck up thereon near saidflange, two annular plates on the sleeve between said flange and said rib and thereby secured together and to the sleeve, each plate having a flaring annular flange,

plurality of notches therein, a notched bowlshaped ferrule on said sleeve and extending In testimony whereof, We allix our signaoVer the flange of the nearer one to the tures in presence 4of two Witnesses, on the l0 'flange of the farther one of said plates, and 27th day of July, 1907.

means securing said .ferrule removably on AUGUSTUS BLAKE. 5 said sleeve, With spreaders extendingl through PETER KRETZER.

the notches of said lange and ferrule and Witnesses:

having heads held by said ferrule between WVM. H. PAYNE,

said langes. E. T. SILVIUS. 

